Silver Spur initially operated as an underground mine between 1892-1925, with additional mining in the 1950s and 1970s, producing 2.2 million ounces of silver at an average grade if 800 grams per tonne, plus 690 tonnes of zinc, 1050t of lead and 990t of copper, and some gold.

 

It has a historical resource of 56 million ounces of silver equivalent declared by previous owner Macmin Silver in 2004.

 

The mine is 3.5km south-east of the mothballed Twin Hills silver mine, which has produced 1.4Moz of silver via heap leach operations since 2008. 

 

Thomson has signed a binding term sheet with privately-run firm Cubane Partners for the Silver Spur mining lease that will see around $950,000 paid in cash and shares.

 

Inefficient smelting technologies, meaning there are some 90,000t of slag that are contain significant silver, zinc, lead, and copper, and Cubane remains the rights to the slag until 2025.

 

After Macmin's collapse in 2008, Alcyone Resources completed drilling, and Thomson believes that there is significant drilling outside the resource that can be developed.

 

Thomson is now aiming to collate all the existing information for the Texas distract to develop a JORC 2012 silver polymetallic resource. 

 

It will also include Silver Spur in its preliminary metallurgical studies to determine potential processing pathways to maximise the recovery of silver, gold and the base metals from its assets covering some 518sq.km of the New England Fold Belt. 

 

The Queensland-New South Wales Fold Belt Hub and Spoke strategy comprises the company's 100%-owned Texas, Webbs, and Conrad projects, and the Mt Carrington joint venture with White Rock Resources. 

 

Thomson shares were up 10% today to 13c, valuing it at $55 million.